The eyes of the whole country and the world were on ISRO as it aimed to achieve history with Chandrayaan 2. July 22 will mark the second anniversary of Chandrayaan 2. Chandrayaan 2 was launched on July 22, 2019, from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. Five arbitrary manoeuvres were performed between July 24 and August 6. On August 14, Chandrayaan 2 left the Earth’s orbit, following a trance to associate the lunar orbital insertion. This mission was the first-ever mission to explore the moon’s south pole, attempt to study the surface of the moon, and identify minerals and indicators of water molecules. However, Chandrayaan 2’s Vikram lander lost contact in the final minutes. The communication was lost at 2.1 km before it planned to land on the southern part lunar surface.
To honour India’s Space mission, this article will list six interesting facts about space that can baffle you. The solar system is a system that is gravity-bound. Space equals infinity. One cannot measure the vastness that space has to offer. It always leaves us wondering when we try to explore its depth and the matter that it is composed of. You will find that these discoveries are unusual and a lot surprising.
- THE BIGGEST VOLCANO IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Mars is the only planet that has the biggest volcano as far as it is investigated. The volcano is named Olympus Mons and is 602km (374 miles) across. Olympus Mons stands almost three times as tall as Mount Everest’s height above sea level.
The reason behind such height can be attributed to the gravity of the planet. The gravity of the red planet is feeble, which leads to the formation of such high volcanoes.
- WATER ICE
Do you know that water ice can also be found in space? It was doubtful that we could find water ice in the solar system; however, discoveries present different facts. Water ice is also found on a comet named 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Besides, it is also found on craters on the moon and Mercury. Other celestial bodies which contain water ice are the moon of Jupiter (Europa), the moon of Saturn (Enceladus), Ceres (the dwarf planet), and Mars.
- MARS IS CONTRACTING
Earth was considered to be the only planet that is technically active. That notion was updated when MESSENGER spacecraft orbited Mercury and closely surveyed the surface. The survey revealed cliff-like landforms, which were small, which made scientists conclude that they were recent. Moreover, scientists also inferred that the planet continues to shrink even after 4.5 billion years since the solar system came into existence.
- NO MOUNTAINS ON PLUTO?
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft changed the notion that Pluto might have a uniform environment considering its great distance from the sun. Icy mountains are discovered, which are nearly 3,300 m in height. Though the sun is at a great distance from Pluto yet, this doesn’t stop the dwarf planet from becoming geologically active. The distance between the sun and the Earth is 150 million km (93 million miles). So, if you consider taking a flight from Earth to Pluto, that would take more than 800 years. This is quite a surprising fact!
- THE LONGEST VALLEY ON MARS
The Grand Canyon is not the giant canyon on Earth. Valles Marineris takes its position as the largest one. It was first spotted by the global mapping mission Mariner 9 (1971). you can compare its length to the United States. Since there is a scarcity of active plate tectonics, it becomes difficult to understand how the canyon was formed. According to scientists, it is believed that Thesis Ridge, which consists of a series of volcanoes on the other side of Mars, may have led to the formation of Valles Marineris.
- NASA SPACESUIT
The basic definition of a spacesuit is that it is a suit that astronauts wear for several reasons. These reasons can range from protecting themselves against high temperature to serving as storage apparel for oxygen and water, the essential amenities to survive. The price of a NASA spacesuit will make you raise your eyebrows which is $12,000,000. Initially, it was built in 1974, which would cost $150 million in present-day pricing. The suit doesn’t cost much as the backpack and the control module it holds. The backpack occupies nearly 70% of the entire suit.
Thus, we see the different strange and interesting facts about the solar system. Thanks to human resources and technology, which made exploring space and solar systems a dream come true. Previous discoveries that were thought to end in themselves got supplemented with findings that wronged the facts. These unusual facts about the solar system continue to inspire scientists to make innovations in science so that more facts can come to the forefront and surprise us uniquely.
